From the time she was born, Skylar’s mother knew that her daughter was a special little girl. Everywhere her mother took her, young Skylar’s beautiful face and lush hair drew the attention of strangers. But Skylar’s beauty went beyond the physical. The light of intelligence glowed in her eyes. An aura of confidence accompanied her every move, and her spirit of generosity flowed from within.

Young Skylar was unaware of her marvelous gifts and the effect they had on others. When she walked into the bakery to pick up a loaf of bread for dinner, and the bakery clerk handed her the biggest and most beautifully decorated cookie in the case—free of charge, she assumed the kind lady gave every little girl a free cookie. When she approached a group of friends playing in the park, they always welcomed her to join in the game, each girl begging her to join their team. Skylar assumed everyone received this warm greeting. At school, the teachers were always complimenting her on her fine work. When she saw another student struggling with an assignment, she would offer her assistance, even if it meant missing recess.

Skylar didn’t think she was any more special than the other girls she knew. She found something to admire about each of them. "Ashley has the most beautiful, dark eyes I’ve ever seen," she would say. Or "Narumi can do any math problem the teacher puts in front of her."

Because she was so unassuming and modest about her gifts, all the other girls loved Skylar. They enjoyed playing with her, learning from her and being her friend. All that is except for Malverie.

Malverie, too, was a pretty girl, with long, silky hair and a delicate face. But Malverie’s features lost their attractive appeal every time she opened her mouth to speak. "Ashley’s eyes are as dark as mud," she would hiss. Or "Narumi is so bookish, she’s never any fun to play with."

If there was one person Malverie was especially critical of it was Skylar. "I don’t know why anyone would ever want to play with Skylar. She’s so boring—all smiley and sweet. She helps the other kids with their work just so she can get extra points with the teacher."

Malverie was always making cutting remarks about Skylar to anyone who would listen. But no one paid any attention. They ignored her critical statements, assuming she was jealous of Skylar. And being ignored made Malverie even angrier.

From the time she was born, Skylar’s mother knew that her daughter was a special little girl. Everywhere her mother took her, young Skylar’s beautiful face and lush hair drew the attention of strangers. But Skylar’s beauty went beyond the physical. The light of intelligence glowed in her eyes. An aura of confidence accompanied her every move, and her spirit of generosity flowed from within.

Young Skylar was unaware of her marvelous gifts and the effect they had on others. When she walked into the bakery to pick up a loaf of bread for dinner, and the bakery clerk handed her the biggest and most beautifully decorated cookie in the case—free of charge, she assumed the kind lady gave every little girl a free cookie. When she approached a group of friends playing in the park, they always welcomed her to join in the game, each girl begging her to join their team. Skylar assumed everyone received this warm greeting. At school, the teachers were always complimenting her on her fine work. When she saw another student struggling with an assignment, she would offer her assistance, even if it meant missing recess.

Skylar didn’t think she was any more special than the other girls she knew. She found something to admire about each of them. "Ashley has the most beautiful, dark eyes I’ve ever seen," she would say. Or "Narumi can do any math problem the teacher puts in front of her."

Because she was so unassuming and modest about her gifts, all the other girls loved Skylar. They enjoyed playing with her, learning from her and being her friend. All that is except for Malverie.

Malverie, too, was a pretty girl, with long, silky hair and a delicate face. But Malverie’s features lost their attractive appeal every time she opened her mouth to speak. "Ashley’s eyes are as dark as mud," she would hiss. Or "Narumi is so bookish, she’s never any fun to play with."

If there was one person Malverie was especially critical of it was Skylar. "I don’t know why anyone would ever want to play with Skylar. She’s so boring—all smiley and sweet. She helps the other kids with their work just so she can get extra points with the teacher."

Malverie was always making cutting remarks about Skylar to anyone who would listen. But no one paid any attention. They ignored her critical statements, assuming she was jealous of Skylar. And being ignored made Malverie even angrier.

One day, as she was walking past the park, she saw all the girls fawning over Skylar. “Skylar, be on my team.” “No, she’s on my team.” It went on and on. Malverie couldn’t take it any more. She was so irritated, she decided to take a walk in the woods to calm herself down. “That’s it,” she thought to herself. “I need to prove to everyone that Skylar really isn’t so perfect. If for one day, people treated her like they treat me, she would stop being so sweet and good.” Just as she had that thought, she glanced over at the side of the path. Something sparkly caught her eye. She bent down to pick it up. It was a beautiful ring with a shiny, pink stone in the middle. Upon closer examination, Malverie could see that there was a latch underneath the stone. She pushed it back to open it, and was shocked when the ring began to talk!

“You’ve discovered the magic wishing ring. Make a wish and see what it brings. Choose it carefully because you only get one. Whisper it inside me, and it will get done.”

Malverie was stunned. She’d never found anything in the woods before. And certainly not a beautiful, magic, wishing ring. It didn’t take her long to decide on her wish. So she cupped her hands around the ring and whispered into it, “I wish that tomorrow everyone treats Skylar like they treat me. I wish that they leave her out and roll their eyes at her—and act like everything she says is annoying beyond words.” Malverie finished, feeling better already.

The next day, Skylar awoke feeling fantastic. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The birds were singing, and she felt happy from head to toe. Her mother was busy straightening their cottage, so Skylar went out to get a fresh loaf of bread from the bakery. She entered the store and greeted the bakery clerk with a friendly smile. But Skylar was surprised when the clerk didn’t smile back.

“What do you want?” The clerk asked curtly. “I haven’t got all day.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you wait,” Skylar said, taken aback at the woman’s manner. “I just need a loaf of bread.” The woman handed her the bread. There were no niceties, no smiles and certainly no beautiful, big cookies, free of charge. And when Skylar handed her the money, she counted each coin to be sure it was all there.

But instead of getting angry or feeling insulted, Skylar took a different tack.

“You look so sad today,” she said to the clerk. “Is there anything I can do to brighten your day? You always brighten mine when you give me those delicious cookies. What can I do to make you smile today,” she asked.

The woman just scowled. Skylar could see she wanted to be left alone. “I’ll be back tomorrow. If there’s anything I can do to help you feel better, please let me know,” she said.

After dropping the loaf of bread off at home, Skylar headed off to school. When she got to her room, the teacher scolded her for being late, even though the school bell hadn’t yet rung. The day continued in much the same way. The teachers were critical of her work. When she went to help a classmate, they accused her of distracting the other girl. It didn’t seem like she could do anything right!

But Skylar wasn’t discouraged. She just assumed people were having a bad day and didn’t get upset or take it personally.

On the way home from school, Skylar stopped by the park to play with her friends. But when she got there, no one looked up from their game and no one said hello. When she asked if she could join a team, they argued over who would end up with her.

After a short while, she realized she wasn’t having much fun, so she left the field and headed home. As she was walking along the path, who should she run into, but Malverie. Skylar noticed she looked more cheerful than usual.

“Hi Skylar,” Malverie said with a knowing grin. “How’s your day going?”

“Well, it hasn’t been my best day. But I’m sure tomorrow will be better,” Skylar said with a hopeful smile.

“I saw those girls in the park. They were pretty rude to you. And the teacher gave you a hard time all day. Aren’t you mad at everyone?”

“Mad? Why would I be mad? I feel bad. I hope the teacher’s husband isn’t sick again. And the girls in the park didn’t mean any harm. I’m not the best at the game they were playing, so why should they pick me for their team?” Skylar said.

When Malverie realized that her wish had backfired and proven Skylar to be an even better person, she was infuriated. She dug the wishing ring out of her pocket and threw it at Skylar. “I wished that you could be treated like me for a day. I wanted people to be mean to you. Fat lot of good it did me. You can have this worthless ring!” With that, Malverie took off toward home.

Skylar caught the ring with the sparkly pink stone mid-air and marveled at it. She couldn’t believe Malverie had wanted to hurt her so badly. What could she do to make Malverie feel better about herself, Skylar thought. In the meantime, she noticed that the ring opened up. As the top came off, a voice spoke: “You’ve discovered the magic wishing ring. Make a wish and see what it brings. Choose it carefully because you only get one. Whisper it inside me, and it will get done.”

Skylar marveled at the ring. She thought for a moment, and then she spoke into it. “I wish that up on top of this hill there was an enchanted castle called My Princess Academy, filled with magical classrooms. Here, girls would learn to be Princesses by discovering the truth that lives within all of our hearts—that we all have the potential for beauty, intelligence, generosity and confidence. At My Princess Academy, no one would have to feel left out or ignored like Malverie. Everyone would laugh and have fun and learn The way of the Princess.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a blue streak of lightning appeared and Skylar was instantly transformed into a princess, wearing the most beautiful princess outfit she’d ever seen, with a magnificent, sparkling tiara atop her head. As she glanced behind her, she saw there was a beautiful, pink Pegasus waiting for her. As she climbed up on her back, she raised her wings and took flight.

In her heart she knew that this would be a truly special place for all the girls to play and learn. She hoped that even Malverie would find her way to the Academy some day.

“If only Malverie could learn to see the beauty in herself, she would see the beauty in those around her, as well,” Skylar thought.

As her pink Pegasus became airborne, Skylar could see the magnificent Princess Academy Castle in the distance. And she knew. This was the beginning of an amazing adventure.